


After the Doctor

by Tobi83



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-30
Updated: 2013-08-30
Packaged: 2017-12-25 03:04:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/947859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tobi83/pseuds/Tobi83
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maybe Donna can remember if she is helped by a flower named wolf.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After the Doctor

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing of Doctor Who or it's characters, no copyright infringement intended and no profit is being made in the using of the characters.

For months after the Doctor left the pseudo-Doctor with her on the beach at BadWolfBay, Rose was content, ecstatic even, until he started displaying traits similar to the proper Doctor, such as regularly abandoning her, going off to investigate something that essentially made him go ‘ooh’. After a while though, she’s noticed that Donna – who she’s not checking up on…really- never even vaguely causes a blip on Torchwood’s radar, which, she begins to feel, might be cause for concern given the… state of mind Donna was in when she and the real-Doctor left.

Eventually Rose’s concern, and if she’s honest, her curiosity, gets the better of her and she slips into Donna's Universe through a back door. Well... she says 'slips' which is really only true if you’re talking metaphorically. Literally she arrives in a burst of light at full pelt as if she’s come a long way, which in a roundabout way she has… if you’re going to be literal about it. The whole arrival thing isn’t awfully subtle really, which annoys her. She never was into the ‘fan fare, look at me’ thing. This method of entry would be an ideal way to draw unwanted attention to herself… if anyone was less self-absorbed than they are which, in this instance, can only be a good thing. The doctor was right, humans are remarkably resilient at ignoring things they ‘know’ can’t be happening, despite evidence to the contrary.

She finally stumbles to a halt and quickly tries to orientate herself in the new surroundings. A flash of red hair has her calling out in relief.

“Donna!”

The red haired woman turns, a disbelieving look on her face “Do I know you?” she asks sharply.

Rose stumbles in a totally different way, her eyes narrowing as she frowns. “Apparently not” she says finally, having seen no sign of recognition. “Perhaps I’m early?” she suggests with a shrug, turning around and walking back into the alleyway she staggered from moments earlier.

Donna frowns “Oi, that’s a dead end!” She calls to the retreating figure before she too shrugs and turns away, thus missing the wind and light spectacular heralding Rose’s exit from this world.

When Rose gets back to Torchwood she’s steamed. “What, the hell?” she asks, stomping over to the slipstream controller, Private Mark Andrews. “Did I get there too early?”

“No… at least, I don’t think so” mutters the young man looking at the boards in front of him as if they are a foreign object. Which Rose feels, is verging on ironic, now that she knows the meaning of the word, given the circumstances.

She exhales slowly “Okay then, what happened?” she asks calmly.

“Um… the Doctor?” suggest Andrews with a wince, already knowing that when talking to the blonde that isn’t the best answer to give.

“He’s not here” she snaps, then apologises. It’s hardly the Privates fault after all.

“No, I mean he’s what happened” There’s a long drawn out pause as Rose tries to understand the implications of such a suggestion.

“Huh?” It’s not what she meant to say, but suddenly it’s the best she can do under the circumstances.

“He’s all over Donna’s line… he’s altered it, you can feel it”

“He’s done what now?” asks Rose feeling her eyebrows, then dip sharply as the Private explains.

“Oh for… that man… selfish…” she fumes, takes a deep breath and exhales “Right. Of course he has, he could never just leave something alone. Can you send me back?”

“Now?”

“Now would be the most useful, yes” she stalks over to the circle of mirrors and myriad of wiring, glad she wore trainers to work. She’d never intended to do this much running today, or any running really. She’d be riding a desk and the fallout of paperwork for months if she managed this little… project.”

There was a flash and a crack as if from a storm, proceeded by the blurred mass of blonde hair as Rose powered through the alleyway trying to lose momentum. This running on entry thing was a glitch Rose felt sorely needed fixing. She was going through trainers at a rate her salary would soon be unable to keep up with. Also, it meant that trying to regain your senses of time and the place you’d landed in was a bit of a hindrance.

She whipped her head round trying to see where she was this time and caught sight of a familiar figure leaving the office complex opposite. So, now she knows. Donna does still exist in her original capacity, there’s just something a bit fuzzy about the overall picture, like a badly placed aerial that needs waggling in order to locate channel 5. Then she has to pause to compute the sheer weirdness of that thought.

Unfortunately, whilst she’s trying to work that one out, Donna has spotted her and stomped over to her.

“Are you stalkin’ me blondie?” she asks in her usual forthright way, surprising Rose and making her curse herself for not keeping a closer watch on her surroundings though, she’s also relieved to note that some other things about the fiery, irate temp in front of her haven’t changed.

“Well?” snaps Donna, her patience evidently wearing thin.

“Not as such no.” replies Rose slowly.

“Not as such?” repeats Donna “What the hell does that mean?”

“Um… do you know who I am?”

“Should I? You’re the blonde girl who was in the alleyway yesterday if that counts.”

“Well, yes. But… nothing else?”

Rose is greeted by Donna’s stony silence.

“Take that as a ‘no’ then shall I? I’m Rose, Rose Tyler.”

A raised eyebrow is her only reply. Evidently, when the Doctor does something invasive, he does it properly. Typical. For once Rose is tempted to curse the dratted man, something she never thought would happen.

“Another no. Well, I know you. You’re Donna Noble, temp extraordinaire of Chiswick. You saved the World once” Rose pauses and mulls that one over “maybe twice actually… maybe more, I wasn’t there for any of those, but definitely once”

“Saved the world? I don’t think so sunshine. I’m just a temp.”

“I did say ‘extraordinaire’, I mentioned that right?” muttered Rose.

“I really don’t have time for this.”

“Right. I’ll just leave you to it then. Another time perhaps Donna Noble.” Rose turns and goes back down the alley.

“That one’s a dead end too” shouts Donna after her, shaking her head and walking away, once again missing the light show.

Once Rose sets foot back in her reality she sets about finding ways in which she can reverse the Doctor’s selfish actions and unlock the potential of Donna Noble. After a while, she finds that she’s made a list of possibilities. She’s even checked it twice, she figures if it works for Father Christmas – a figure she’s starting to suspect might possibly exist – it might just work for her in this instance. She takes a last glance at the paper, picks a likely candidate for today and pockets it whilst stepping up on to the platform. “Beam me up Scotty” she mutters as she disappears, causing Andrews to utter a most unmilitary giggle.

A frustrated Rose emerges running from yet another alleyway, hoping to gain control of her legs once more, the running on entry malarkey seems to take care of itself leaving her with less assertion over her own limbs than she would like given the circumstances.

“What is it with you and alleyways Blondie?” a slightly irate, though verging on amused, voice utters.

“Couldn’t really say. It’s not by choice. Besides, it beats a main road”

“Huh?”

“Never mind. Hello Donna.”

“Rose.”

“You remember?”

“Well, yeah. You told me your name two days ago. I’ve got a good memory, especially for strange blonde girls who appear from alleyways and know your name. Don’t find many of those about really” replies Donna matter-of-factly.

“Rare breed, the Rose Tyler Alley Girl.”

Donna snorts, a most unladylike noise “Not that I’ve noticed.”

“Do you ever look at the stars Donna Noble?” With your Grandad? Do you see things that logically you shouldn’t be seeing? Like ships the shape of stars or blue police boxes?”

Rose is greeted by a wide-eyed stare of shocked incomprehension.

“Ah! Too much too soon perhaps” she hazards “You should watch the stars with your Granddad… it’s a good hobby.”

“How d’you know he does that?”

“I’m tuned in?” suggest Rose in a tone that suggest a question rather than a statement of fact “I’ll leave, perhaps I’ve said too much for a first time.”

“First time? There’ll be a next time?”

“Quiet possibly, Donna Noble temp extraordinaire” replies Rose with a rare grin.

“You said that before.”

“I meant it, you’re special… at least you should be but you’re being held back, from reaching your full potential.”

“Oh. I think you’ve got the wrong person love. I’m nobody special.”

“No you are. You just don’t remember it yet,” replies Rose cryptically, turning down the alleyway.

This time Donna waits for the blonde to re-emerge from yet another cul-de-sac so she sees the full light show. Peering down the alley to check Rose wasn’t hurt by whatever caused the light. She’s shocked to find it completely void of blondes; a stunned “Bloody hell fire” erupts into the following silence.

The next time Rose appears three days later Donna is there wearing sunglasses against the glare of entry.

“Worked that bit out then” Rose says by way of greeting, a hint of pride tingeing her voice.

“Kind of. Mostly I just know it happens on ‘arrival and departure’” says Donna making air quotes around the pertinent words. “Whatever the hell that means.”

Rose grins, “Alleyways are my travel lounge.”

“That’s unfortunate. Bet you don’t get a complimentary packet of peanuts.”

“Not as such no.”

“Right then” says Donna briskly; removing the sunglasses “what cryptic-ness are you leaving me with this time Yoda?”

“Actually, I thought we could go for a drink. I’m sick of alleyways, and I suspect that there are going to be a lot more in my future.”

“Alright then, we could go to the Dog and Biscuit on the corner” Donna pauses “You’re not hitting on me are you?”

Rose’s eyebrows hit her hairline, “hadn’t planned on it. But then, I hadn’t factored in you waiting for me wearing sunglasses either. How did you know when I’d be here? Or even here, here?”

Donna looks puzzled “I don’t know, I just did I suppose” she decides to ignore Rose’s lack of implicit denial about the potential for propositioning her.

“Huh!” is the only remark Rose makes, though she smiles as she says it. “That drink then?” is Rose’s wholly unsubtle hint about them making a move.

Once seated in the pub over a glass of white wine and a pint of coke; Rose finds that alcohol and dimension jumping makes her decidedly queasy, not to mention the hangover of monumental proportions, Donna decides to bite the bullet “you’re not from around here are you?”

“I was. Once. Quite a long time ago, at least that’s what it feels like. Now I live a very long way away, a whole other world really,” says Rose absently twisting her pint glass around.

Donna looks over at this slip of a girl, who is so young and yet… old at the same time. As if she’s seen things beyond her years. “A girl with stars in her eyes” mutters Donna taking a sip of wine.

“What did you say?” asks Rose sharply halting her glass rotation efforts.

“I’m not sure, something about stars I think” replies Donna feeling confused

Rose eyes her shrewdly “There may be hope for you yet Donna Noble.”

“So you’ve said.”

“Well it bears repeating. How do you feel about police boxes? Blue ones specifically. Seen any about?”

“Back to being cryptic girl then are we? Well, I haven’t seen any. How old are you anyway?”

“22” Rose says then leaves it at that, the police box and stars idea is something for Donna to think about and moves onto other things.

“How’s your Granddad?” she asks, taking a long gulp of coke.

“That’s twice you’ve mentioned him. Have you met?”

Rose shakes her head “Not in the strictest sense.”

"You're going to have to explain that one."

“I’m hoping that eventually you’ll be able to supply yourself with the answers. Besides I’ll be in less trouble if you work it out for yourself.

“That’s why you’re here isn’t it. I’ve forgotten something and you’re trying to make me remember.”

“Help.” Asserts Rose “I prefer help; to make it makes me sound dead bossy otherwise. Also, something is understating it rather.”

“What the hell happened?”

“Ah, I’m not sure of the precise mechanics” There’s a lengthy pause “Have you found yourself doing things you wouldn’t normally do?”

“Such as?” is the interested yet slightly frosty response.

Rose waves her hands about in a vague fashion “I don’t know things of a vaguely electrical nature?”

“Such as?” Donna prompts again, though less frostily this time, curiosity evident in her tone.

“Fixed your toaster, changed a fuse… set the timer on the VCR?” hazards Rose.

Donna looks mildly embarrassed “I did set the timer, yes… and re-wired the kettle.”

Rose grins and leans over in a confiding way “how do you feel about pinstripes?”

“Slimming?”

“Anything else?”

“Well…”

“Yes?” asks Rose leaning forward eagerly over her pint glass

“There’s you of course. Random blonde girls appearing at a fair old clip out of alleyways in great big flashes of light isn’t exactly normal!

“Yes, well… you’ve got me there I suppose” There’s another long pause, then “How do you feel about Christmas?”

“It’s… okay, but…” she trails off.

“But?”

“Mum and Granddad don’t seem to be looking forward to it like usual, they always loved it before, and now…”

Rose bites her lip

“Why is that?” asks Donna looking her in the eye

Rose sighs and resumes fiddling with her glass “You know I’ve said you’ve saved the world once, or twice?” Donna nods so Rose continues, “Well, the definite once was from a big red spider lady who had a spaceship shaped like a star. During the festive season if I recall correctly. Also, you saved a very important man that day.”

“That’d explain it then” says Donna oddly matter-of-factly “The Prime Minister?”

“No. I did say important. It was a man called the Doctor” Rose looks at her watch “I’m sorry, I really have to get going or I’ll miss my lift.”

“I hope I’ll get to see you again,” says Rose after a lengthy pause.

“You mean you might not?” asks Donna, surprised at the potential disappointment of such a prospect.

“Kind of depends on whether my superiors catch on or not. What I’m doing isn’t exactly sanctioned. More like… using works facilities for personal use.” Rose admits a sad half grin gracing her face.

“Ah! Stole someone’s hole punch?” asks Donna knowingly.

“No. Although, in a manner of speaking… I suppose you’re right.”

***

When Rose launches through the alleyway towards Donna on her next visit, an entire week has passed. Instead of the usual, rather relaxed greeting she’s met by one angry red head and can’t help but feel that she’s right back at the beginning all over again.

“I know who you are missy!” is the sharply intoned greeting.

“Ok” Rose hesitantly replies her head canted to one side is question “Hello to you too.”

“You’re missing, presume dead. Your Mum too and some chap named Mickey, though he seems to be back.”

Apparently Donna doesn’t believe in leading up to such large pronouncements. Rose is shocked; perhaps they are even further back than square one after all.

“Well? Care to explain?” Donna demands.

Rose notes that her posture is screaming ‘pissed’ at her, she winces reflexively, any second now she expects the foot tapping to start. She’s not disappointed. Now, Rose is angry “How the hell did you find that out?”

Donna shoots her a withering glance. “I just used the power of my fingers.” At Roses shocked look she clarifies “I googled you. This is the electronic age and I am a temp,” she says waggling her fingers at Rose.

Rose frowns “Well, I suppose all of that is strictly true…”

“But?”

Rose sighs and decides to just bite the damn bullet already “But I’m also no longer of this world” she mumbles in a rush, looking at the ground and scuffing the tow of her trainer against the asphalt.

“You’re dead?” gasps Donna backing away.

Rose huffs in exasperation. “Do I look dead? Besides, who emerges from the ‘other side’ at a gallop?”

“You do? At least you might,” says Donna, evidently reluctant to let her idea go.

“I’m not dead!” Shouts Rose emphatically “I’m from another Universe if you must know. It’s just like this one… but not. I’m not meant to be there. Only now, I’m not exactly meant to be here either. It was the Doctor” Rose sighs unhappily “It’s just…”

“Just?”

“Well, you weren’t you, and the you I’ve met deserved better than that. This isn’t exactly the top priority of my work. I’m working under the radar as it were… as much as you can jump dimensions under the radar.”

“Oh.”

Rose takes a deep breath and releases it. She feels oddly calm. Surprisingly it feels good to know that the proverbial elephant in the room is pretty much gone. Letting someone else in on her secret is somehow liberating.

“Anything else I should know miss ‘I’m not dead’?”

“Probably lots of things, but I can’t think of them right now.”

Donna decides to just accept that one as it stands and moves on. “So… another drink?”

“Actually, I’d rather go for some chips. Somehow they taste different where I’m from.”

Donna smiles “Chips it is then” she says as they cross the road.

***

The sixth time Rose appears in flashes of lightning Donna is waiting for her, still wearing the sunglasses but this time holding a steaming, slightly soggy, packet of chips. Rose suspects it’s a peace offering for the last times.

“It’s bloody freezing out here” are Donna’s first words as she proffers the chips “Salt and vinegar the way you like them. Also, very good hand warming device, works a treat.”

Rose grins as she takes them from outstretched hands “True. So do gloves” she mumbles around a chip “Why were you waiting for me this time? You’re not buttering me up so you can yell at me again are you?”

“Hadn’t planned on it, should I be?”

“No” Rose shakes her head emphatically then glances around “Oh God” she shivers, ducking under cover of a convenient archway.

“What? Oh. It’s snowing” says Donna smiling as she turns to Rose “what’s wrong with snow? Come out of there and enjoy it. It won’t last long.”

“It’s definitely snow right?” Rose asks eyeing the sky suspiciously.

Donna rolls her eyes at her and sticks her tongue out, catching several flakes much to Rose’s evident disgust “Course its snow, what else would it be?”

Rose stays silent as she realises Donna must be telling the truth, as the air doesn’t have the same thick greasy feeling that the ash felt like last Christmas.

Donna eyes her quizzically “this is another of those things I don’t remember yet isn’t it?”

Rose nods “Afraid so. Sorry about that”

“Hardly your fault” comes the soft retort, as she reaches out and grabs Rose’s hand “Come out here and enjoy it” she adds dragging the blonde away from the protection of the doorway and onto the pavement.

Rose balls up the empty chip wrapper and puts it in the nearest bin “Did your mum find your car keys?” she asks eyeing the bin beside her.

“Oh yes. She was well miffed with me for putting them in the bin though” replies Donna absently.

Rose grins “Why did you leave them in the bin Donna?” she asks slyly.

“I don’t know… I’ve remembered something haven’t I?”

“Yes you have. You left the keys in the bin because you got a lift with someone else.” Rose explains.

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry you’ll remember when you’re ready, and until then I’ll be around to annoy you.”

“You don’t annoy me, confuse me sometimes, but you’re not annoying.”

“Always a first time I suppose” shrugs Rose, though she smiles as she says it.

Donna looks at her as they walk through the snow “Ok. Tell me more. I’m fed up with these bloody cryptic phrases and blanks in the significance.”

Rose looks at her askance “Alright. You’re probably as ready as you’ll ever be. I haven’t told you much really, and I can’t fill in all the gaps because I wasn’t there. I’m just here to jog your memory, to get you started.”

Donna nods “I can live with that. You can start with how you know me already.”

“You like all the hard ones answered first don’t you” muttered Rose.

“Get’s them out of the way,” says Donna with a practical air

“Fine” huffs Rose, evidently resigned to the prospect, but not really surprised “You know how some people think the whole world revolves around them? Well, in your case it was kind of true, at least, for a while. And it wasn’t world, it was world’s… plural!” Rose looks over at her to see how she’s taking it so far. All she can see is Donna’s raised eyebrows.

“Well, go on” prompts Donna “you’re not leaving it at that are you? Are you?”

“No. I’ll tell you the rest” and Rose proceeds to lay out the basics of their shared part in that escapade.”

“I died?”

“Well, that particular version of you did, yes. I was there; you purposefully got yourself run over to force your other self into making a different decision, which saved the world. You saved the world Donna. You brought the Doctor back to a world that needed him. I told you to say something to him. Do you remember what it was?”

Donna shakes her head “no, I don’t” she says in a voice little more than a shocked whisper.

Rose looks at her and loops her arm through Donna’s “I’m sorry. I think that was too much information. You really did save the world though. You saved him, you stopped the Titanic from crashing to Earth… you were far more important than I ever was when I travelled with him… well except the time I killed all the Dalek’s in the Universe. You were amazing Donna Noble.”

“That’s what he said.”

"What, when?"

"huh? What when?" asks Dona confused.

“You said… never mind” says Rose, squeezing the arm in hers “Look, the snow’s landing” she glances at her watch “and I have to go.”

They turn and walk back to the alley in silence, pausing at the opening “I’m sorry it’s all shocked you, I never intended to.”

“Nah!” scoffs Donna “Something to think about though.”

Rose nods and retreats down the alley.

“Bye Bad Wolf” says Donna.

Rose turns her head just as the rift opens “What?” she asks as it closes around her, engulfing her, taking her home.

All Donna can remember is the shock mingled with glee warring across Rose’s face as she vanishes.

***

When Rose appears in the alleyway on the next occasion she’s surprised, and more that faintly disappointed to find the street entirely void of Donna, who, until now, has always managed to be waiting for her, in the ridiculous sunglasses, despite Rose’s entirely unpredictable arrival schedule. She supposes that it must just be some random mote of Doctor Donna-ness trying to rise to the surface.

Rose sighs, rams her hands in her pockets and tries to remember where Donna lives. After all, she’s got a few hours until her return lift; she might as well try to find her whilst she’s here. Her breath billows around her in irritated huffs as she sets off, moments later a loud sigh of exasperation permeates the silence as Rose stomps past the alleyway in the opposite direction.

When she finally makes it to the doorstep of what she sincerely hopes is Donna’s home, she’s considerably warmer of body though certainly not of spirit, probably because she got lost at least three more times on the way. She tugs her hand out of her pocket and raps sharply on the door, the cold wood biting into her knuckles causing to her wince.

Luckily for Rose it’s Donna’s Granddad who opens the door. A smile appears on both faces as recognition dawns, though his dims quickly “She’s been talking about you. I thought she was remembering but she wasn’t was she? You’ve been seeing her.”

Rose nods “Yes, although I think she’s beginning to remember some things.”

A panicked look crosses the old mans face “But, the Doctor said…”

“Yeah well, I think he’s wrong, wouldn’t be the first time. He just likes to think he is always right, bit of a complex about it really… of course he usually is. We, that is my dimensions Torchwood, think that it was just her body chemistry realigning to accept her Doctor-ness for want of a better word. The Doctor was right, most humans aren’t supposed to be able to cope with it all, but Donna isn’t most people, she’s special.”

She stares at the top of his head for a moment, finally realising what is wrong with the picture “Why are you wearing that?”

“What? Oh, my hat?” he asks, his hand rising up to touch the flimsy red paper crown “Its Christmas love, don’t you have that where you’re from?”

“Of course we do. I’m from an alternate Earth, not the lost moon of Poosh… though that’s been found now” she pauses “I think.”

“I should come back another time,” she mumbles, blushing a dark shade of sheer embarrassment “I’m afraid the jumping doesn’t directly translate date-wise” she turns to go.

The man holds the door open wider “Nonsense love, I’m sure Donna would want to see you. After all, you’ve come rather a long way I think” Rose smiles at him and enters the house.

Rose finds Donna upstairs trying to concoct what Rose surmises to be a radio, from an inner tube, two pieces of copper wiring, a fork and what looks suspiciously like parts of a toaster.

“You’d be better off trying to make your iPod run off an apple” is Rose’s only comment as she slides down the wall to sit next to Donna.

“Hello miss ‘Bad Wolf’” says Donna not looking up.

“You said that when I left last time. How do you know that name?”

“It’s everywhere… you’re everywhere,” says Donna finally looking at her “It’s what you told me when I…” she takes a deep breath “When I died” she adds quietly, forcefully.

Rose grins. “Yes it is though it was only that version of you. You’re still her aren’t you?”

“I didn’t expect you today” says Donna changing the subject

Rose chooses not to question how Donna is able to expect her at all “It was an unplanned jump” she says instead “An extra one if you will. After last time, I didn’t want to leave it too long.”

“How do I know all this… stuff?” asks Donna plaintively whilst waving a screwdriver at her.

"What stuff?"

“How to make a radio, the names of planets that aren’t even in our solar system, that we even live in a system, dreams of huge; moving, talking pepper pots that vaporise people. That I know when you’re going to be here…?” There’s a long pause “Why I have such an aversion to pinstripes and those All Star sneakers?”

Rose grins “Finally. I think you’re almost there Donna Oh, and the pepper pots are Dalek’s.” She tells Donna about the Doctor, who she was becoming and what he did to her. It takes over an hour and by the time she’s reached the end, Rose has a dry throat and Donna’s completely silent attention.

“He. Did. What?” is the carefully enunciated question. Rose swears that if Donna knew how to, the words would have been spoken in full capitals and red ink.

“He wiped your memory of your time together, everything” Rose pauses to think for a moment, Donna waits.

“Okay, try this, it’s like that word association game thing, I say a word and you tell me what it means to you, if anything. Sonic Screwdriver”

“Sonic what?”

“Don’t over think it, just tell me”

“It opens things, doesn’t work on wood and is everything but a bloody screwdriver.”

"Tardis"

"Time and Relative Dimensions In Space, also known as the tiny blue flying police box."

“Well, yes I suppose” Rose thinks “the lost moon of Poosh.”

“Misnamed.”

“How so?”

“Well, we found it didn’t we? So it’s not so lost anymore.”

“Okay” Rose grins and prepares the big guns “Sarah Jane Smith?”

“Journalist with the talking tin dog”

"Jack Harkness?"

“On the other bus… mores the pity”

“How’s that then?”

“On. The. Other. Bus. Think about it Rose”

“Ah, yes… I think he’s shagging Ianto” she replies after some thought “Pinstripes”

Again there is a very long pause, and then Donna explodes “That… that man!” she exclaims “Ooh, if I find him…”

Rose grins “I think you’re there Donna. Or should I say Doctor Donna?”

Donna however is currently too angry to hear Rose, she turns to her, fire burning in her eyes “Right, I’m going downstairs” she says abruptly as she stands up, a stunned Rose scrambles into a standing position next to her and waits “I’m going to need; rubber gloves, a brillo pad and a lot of hot soapy water” she says hurrying from the room a confused rose trailing in her wake.

“Why? What are you going to make?” Rose asks with evident glee in her voice.

“This isn’t Blue Peter Rose. I’m not going to be making anything out of bloody yogurt pots… do I look like Valerie Singleton?” at Rose’s continued look of utter confusion she adds “I’m going to wash up, it’s what I do when I’m angry, helps me think.”

Somehow this amuses Rose no end and reminds her scarily of her mother “What works for you I suppose. I tend to hit things.”

"Oh, that comes later" replies Donna darkly, making Rose smile.

“That’s alright then” somehow she’s reassured, that even underneath all her new found Doctor-ness, she’s still Donna, and relatively normal.

End

 


End file.
